The different Greek words (agapaō and phileō) that are used in the conversation between Jesus and Peter (the first two times, Jesus asked Peter whether he “agapaōs” him, to which Peter answers that he “phileōs” Jesus, whereas the third time, Jesus’ question and Peter’s answer are both “phileō“) and that are typically all translated “love” in English are differentiated in some translations:
The English translation by Blackwelder (1980) differentiate with love and have affection, Cassirer (1989) with love and hold dear, Pakaluk (2021) has cherish and love, and Ruden (2021) has love and close friend
A number of German translations (Luther 2017, Neue Genfer Übersetzung 2011, Menge 2010, BasisBibel 2021) use lieben (for agapaō) vs. lieb haben for phileō (“love” vs. “be very fond of”); the translation by Fridolin Stier (1989) has “love” and “be a friend”
Likewise, the FrenchBible Segond 21 (publ. 2007) uses aimer vs. avoir l’amour with a similar difference than the former German translations
The BurmeseMyanmar Standard Bible (2017) has hkyit (ချစ်) vs. hkyithkain (ချစ်ခင်), also “love” vs. “love / be fond of.”
Kayaw makes a distinction as well (source: Anonymous)
The Greek that is translated in English as “asleep” or similar is translated in Burmese as “royally asleep.” In the widely-used translation by Judson an honorific particle is added to every verb that describes an action of Jesus, so here he is “royally asleep.” (source: S.V. Vincent in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 196f. )
The now commonly-used German idiom die Augen gehen über (literally “the eyes overflow”), which today primarily means “amazed” (in the sense of “making big eyes”) was made popular in 1522 in the German New Testament translation by Martin Luther. For other idioms or terms in German that were coined by Bible translation, see here.
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated as Jesus brach in Tränen aus or “Jesus burst into tears.”
In Burmese, the widely-used translation by Judson adds an honorific particle to every verb that describes an action of Jesus, so here he “cries royally.” (source: S.V. Vincent in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 196f. )
In the Pfälzisch translation by Walter Sauer (publ. 2012) it is idiomatically translated as (Do sin Jesus) die Träne kumme, literally “Jesus’ tears came.” (source: Zetzsche)
The Greek in Luke 15:25 that is translated in English as “music” is translated in Muna as “the sound of the gong and the drum.” René van den Berg explains: “There is no abstract word for ‘music’ (the footnote has the loan musik).”
Mairasi: “the sound of songs” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Hiligaynon: “sounds” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Burmese: “the sound of beating-blowing” (“‘Beating blowing’ is a general term for instrumental music and covers the sound of percussion instruments, wind and brass instruments which are blown, and some stringed instruments which are also ‘beaten.'” — source: Anonymous)
The Greek that is translated as “tent” or “dwelling” in English is translated in Estado de Mexico Otomi as “little houses made of branches” and in Tzotzil as “grass houses.” (Source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation, March 1965, p. 2ff.)
The Hebrew that is translated as “eagle” in English is translated in the Burmese translation by A. Judson (first publ. in 1823, still the most widely-used translation in Myanmar) as rhvelanghta (ရွှေလင်းတ) or “golden vulture (or: “eagle”).” While this might be a correct translation overall, the fact that vultures are disliked in Myanmar culture and they’re not considered to be a majestic bird, has some readers feel uneasy about the translation choice, especially for this verse (Isaiah 40:31). Some new translations use a different term that uses a word that specifically identifies an eagle. One revision of the Judson Bible is specifically known as the “Eagle edition” of 2006. “The editors are not known, and identified themselves only as ‘CRC.’ Basing their work on Judson’s version of the Myanmar Bible, they edited and changed many words, phrases, and sentence structures. The main concern of this edition is probably the translation of the word ‘eagle,’ thus the name ‘Eagle Edition.” (Source: Khoi Lam Thang in The Bible Translator2009, p. 195ff.)
Anna Sui Hluan (2022, p. 257) remarks: “The fact that the authors of the revised translation remain anonymous, and that so few have questioned Judson’s translation, can be linked to Myanmar’s culture of respect. Adoniram Judson is not only respected among Christians but also by other religious groups in Myanmar, because of his contribution to the Burmese language.”
There are three different levels of speech in Burmese: common language, religious language (addressing and honoring monks, etc.), and royal language (which is not in active use anymore). Earliest Bible translations used exclusively royal and religious language (in the way Jesus is addressed by others and in the way Jesus is referred to via pronouns), which results in Jesus being divine and not human. Later editions try to make distinctions.
In the Common Language Version (publ. 2005) the human face of Jesus appears in the narrative of the angel’s message to Joseph and what Joseph did in response (Matthew 1:21-25). The angel told Joseph that Mary was going to give birth to a son, not a prince.
Likewise in Luke 2:6-7 the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is told simply using the Common language. Again in the description of the shepherds’ visit to the baby Jesus (Mark 1:21-25), in the story of Jesus’ circumcision (Luke 2:6-2:7), and in the narrative of the child Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem (Luke 2:46-51), the human face of Jesus comes to the forefront.
On the other hand, the child Jesus is clearly depicted as a royal or a divine child in the story of the wise men (Matthew 2:9-12), the story of the flight to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14), and the return to Nazareth (Matthew 2:20-21).
The Hebrew that is translated as “sin (is lurking at the door)” or similar in English is translated in Judson’s Burmese as “sin offering (pyit hpyay saw yaj / ပြစ်ဖြေသောယဇ်) (crouching near the door).”
John De Jong (in The Bible Translator 2010, p. 89ff. ) comments on this translation: “It appears that what we have in our Judson Bible at Genesis 4:7 is an ‘exegetical fossil.’ At the time Judson translated the passage, the understanding of hattat as ‘sin offering’ in Gen 4.7 was a widely held reading. However, it was not a reading that stood the test of time and today it is no longer considered to be even a possible reading. Nevertheless, it is the reading that most Myanmar Christians are exposed to, as the Judson Bible is still the most widely read version in the Myanmar language.”
